IE Domain Registry Limited (IEDR), the private company that operates the Republic's .ie internet domain name system, has replaced its auditor, BCW.Documents filed with the Companies Registration Office yesterday show it has appointed Dublin-based chartered accountancy firm Duignan Carthy O'Neill to audit its accounts.
The decision to replace Dublin-based BCW follows allegations of inappropriate arrangements in relation to financing payments made to IEDR's auditor.
IEDR chairman Prof Seán Scanlon made the allegations in a High Court affidavit filed last year following the suspension of the company's chief executive, Mr Mike Fagan.
Mr Fagan and the registry's former auditor, Mr Colm Watters of BCW, yesterday denied that there was anything inappropriate in the way BCW was paid.
Mr Watters said he was not even aware of the allegation and had not received any documentation from the registry or its legal representatives on the matter.
He said BCW was considering taking legal action against the registry to recoup auditing fees that it alleges it is owed.
The registry, which maintains the database of .ie internet names but is not a governing or regulatory body, has been embroiled in a bitter dispute involving Mr Fagan and Prof Scanlan for almost a year.
Mr Fagan was suspended on full pay late in October 2002 by the registry's board of directors.
He subsequently secured a temporary High Court order restraining the company from acting on a report prepared by KPMG in the context of purported disciplinary proceedings related to him. He later settled this action and is still suspended on full pay by the registry.
An affidavit submitted to the High Court by Prof Scanlan made several serious allegations about Mr Fagan's conduct as chief executive of the registry.
Mr Fagan said yesterday the allegations contained in Prof Scanlan's High Court affidavit were false. He said the fact that he was still chief executive of the registry 11 months after being suspended spoke volumes.
An IEDR spokesman confirmed that its auditor had been replaced but would not comment on the issue. A Duignan Carthy O'Neill spokesman also would not comment.
Meanwhile, records released under the Freedom of Information Act show the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, expressed concern to the Minister for Communications, Mr Ahern, that the difficulties surrounding the registry were damaging the Republic's image as a credible location for e-commerce. The letter, sent in February, said that representations made to her Department suggested that parties may seek to have the registry wound up.
